Please read Psalm 40 (17 verses)

This Psalm is a messianic Psalm celebrating the glories of the Lord Jesus and His wonderful works to the children of humankind. The psalmist thanks the Lord for the rescue of his soul from the mire and dirt of his sin and setting him free from the effect of it, both in this life and in the life to come. The Lord delivers the writer from the uncertainty of life and gives him a firm and settled place to stand, both physically and spiritually. All who trust in the Lord exclusively will see the wonders that He has done and will be able to decipher the ways of the Lord and be wise.

God does not require sacrifices from us, for Christ has died in our place, but He requires us to listen to the Word of God and obey it. The desire of the Lord Jesus was to do the will of His Father all the way to the cross on Calvary’s hill. He laid down His life as a willing sacrifice to pay the price of His people and redeem them for himself as a holy nation before the Lord their God. The Psalmist will speak of this and not hide it in the great assembly of the people of God. He will witness to the faithfulness of the Lord at all times.

The psalmist continues to have many troubles that surround him, but he asks the Lord to protect and cover him and to not withhold mercy from him. His troubles are overwhelming and even his eyesight, inward and outward, is affected by the experiences that have circumvented his life. His heart fails and beats double quick time, with the anxiety he feels in the stresses of his life. He asks the Lord to help him quickly because his life draws near the grave. Christ was abandoned by the Father as he bore the sin of many and faced the terrible pain of rejection and separation from the one He loved the best. He faced this up for our sake – out of love for sinful people.

The writer of the Psalm wishes to be delivered from the enemy and the many anxieties that surround him and are causing him much pain. We are delivered from our hurts because Christ faced the ultimate hurt for our sake and laid down his very life for us. “The Lord is great” is the closing salvo of this Psalm and the admission of a heart in its great need.